Jay I. Kislak (June 6, 1922 – October 3, 2018) was an American businessman, philanthropist, bibliophile, and aviator.

Early life and education

Kislak was born in

Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,690 i ...

on June 6, 1922. He earned his first real estate license in high school at the

Newark Academy Newark Academy is a coeducational private day school located in Livingston, in Essex County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in sixth through twelfth grades. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Col ...

Livingston, New Jersey Livingston is a township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States census, 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 29,366, reflecting an increase of 1,975 (+7.2%) from the ...

. He attended and graduated from the

Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a Private university, private Ivy League rese ...

, where he majored in

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

. Upon graduation, he served as a

U.S.Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

aviator in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In 1945, Kislak returned to New Jersey to enter the family real estate business full-time. In the early 1950s, Kislak moved his family to

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, where established one of the country's largest privately-held mortgage banks, originating and servicing loans nationally for over 40 years. He served as chairman of the Kislak Organization. From 1984 to 2020, the Kislak Foundation's philanthropic giving was focused on rare books, art, and historic documents. Many of the items in the collection have been donated to the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

and several university libraries.

Philanthropy

National Air and Space Museum

The

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

National Air and Space Museum The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, also called the Air and Space Museum, is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States. Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, it opened its main building on the Nat ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

received $10 million from the Kislak Family Foundation to support the creation of the new "World War II in the Air" exhibition. It will be named the "Jay I. Kislak World War II in the Air" gallery. The gallery will explore how World War II transformed aviation and warfare and inaugurated a new era in military aviation. Flying was a family legacy and Kislack celebrated his 95th birthday on the

USS Intrepid (CV-11) USS ''Intrepid'' (CV/CVA/CVS-11), also known as The Fighting "I", is one of 24 s built during World War II for the United States Navy. She is the fourth US Navy ship to bear the name. Commissioned in August 1943, ''Intrepid'' participated in se ...

aircraft carrier.

Library of Congress donations

In 2022, the Kislak Family Foundation donated $10 million to the

to create a gallery exploring the history of the early

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

. Kislak first donated nearly 4,000 items from his collection to the Library of Congress in 2004. This included rare masterpieces of indigenous art, maps, manuscripts, and cultural treasures documenting more than a dozen Native cultures and the earliest history of the Americas. In 2018, the Library of Congress appointed the first Jay I. Kislak Chair for the Study of the History and Cultures of the Early Americas.

Sothebys auction

Jay I. Kislak's substantial collection extended far beyond the nearly 4,000 items he donated to the

. His collection included

impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

modernist Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...

, and

contemporary Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is o ...

art and prints, photographs, designs, books and manuscripts. Sotheby’s departments are currently consigning many of works from the collection, including Richard Diebenkorn’s ''Berkeley Six'',

Raoul Dufy Raoul Dufy (; 3 June 1877 – 23 March 1953) was a French Fauvism, Fauvist painter. He developed a colorful, decorative style that became fashionable for designs of ceramic art, ceramics and textile as well as decorative schemes for public bu ...

’s ''Les Martigues'', Mary Cassatt’s ''Girl in a Hat with a Black Ribbon'', Diego Giacometti’s ''Hommage à Böcklin'' console, William Bourne’s ''A Regiment for the Sea'' and Daniel Giraud Elliot’s ''Monograph of the Felidae or Family of Cats''. In addition to the Library of Congress, Kislak donated to multiple institutions of higher learning, including the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

Miami Dade College Miami Dade College (Miami Dade, MDC or Dade) is a public college in Miami, Florida. Founded in 1959, it has a total of eight campuses and twenty-one outreach centers throughout Miami-Dade County. It is the largest college in the Florida College S ...

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

, the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, and the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

Kislak Center at the University of Miami and Freedom Tower at Miami Dade College

The Kislak Center at the

Libraries was established with original source materials related to the history of the early

. The gift established a partnership between the

and

Kislak Center at the University of Pennsylvania Libraries

Jay I. Kislak and the Kislak Family Foundation donated $5.5 million to the

University of Pennsylvania Libraries The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...

in Philadelphia to complete the renovation of the 5th and 6th floors of the Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center and also contributed to ongoing Kislak Center programming. Additionally, Kislak gifted the Penn Libraries books from the library of

Jacques Auguste de Thou Jacques Auguste de Thou (Thuanus) (8 October 1553, Paris – 7 May 1617, Paris) was a French historian, book collector and president of the Parliament of Paris. Life Jacques Auguste de Thou was the grandson of , president of the Parliament ...

Kislak Family Foundation Artist/Writer in Residence at the University of Florida

The Center for Latin American Studies at the University of Florida received a donation from the Kislak Family Foundation to establish an artist/writer in residence program. The program funds a visiting artist or writer who teaches courses, conducts workshops, delivers lectures, and tutors students on the main Gainesville campus. The program's purpose is to bring preeminence to the

in the field of

Latin American art Latin American art is the combined artistic expression of South America, Central America, the Caribbean, and Mexico, as well as Latin Americans living in other regions. The art has roots in the many different indigenous cultures that inhabited the ...

and expose the campus community to works of art and literature. In 2022, Gabriela Alemán was the first selected Kislak Family Foundation Artist/Writer in Residence.

Kislak Real Estate Institute at Monmouth University

In 2006, on the 100th anniversary of the Kislak Real Estate Company, a seven-figure donation was made to

Monmouth University Monmouth University is a private university in West Long Branch, New Jersey. Founded in 1933 as Monmouth Junior College, it became Monmouth College in 1956 and Monmouth University in 1995 after receiving its charter. There are about 4,400 full- ...

West Long Branch, New Jersey West Long Branch is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 8,097,George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

to head

U.S. Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...

's Cultural Property Advisory Committee from 2003 through 2008. In 2013, Kislak received the Encomienda of the Order of Merit Civil from the

King of Spain , coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg , coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain , image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg , incumbent = Felipe VI , incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...

, among other awards and appointments. In 2017 he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Kislak and his family were among the 25 founding families of Temple Beth Am in

Pinecrest, Florida Pinecrest is a Village (United States), suburban village in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The 2010 United States census, 2010 U.S. census recorded a population of 18,223; as of 2019, this has increased by over five percent to an e ...

, one of the largest temples in Florida. He also was a member of Temple Israel of Greater Miami in

and Synagogue Adas Yoshurun in

Rockland, Maine Rockland is a city in Knox County, Maine, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 6,936. It is the county seat of Knox County. The city is a popular tourist destination. It is a departure point for the Maine State ...

.Deaths in South Florida 10/5
Jay I. Kislak. ''South Florida Sun-Sentinel'' Oct 05, 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kislak, Jay I. 1922 births 2018 deaths American philanthropists Aviators from Florida Aviators from New Jersey Bibliophiles Jewish American philanthropists Newark Academy alumni Pennsylvania State University People from Hoboken, New Jersey Philanthropists from Florida Philanthropists from New Jersey Real estate brokers University of Florida University of Miami Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania alumni